The Polish apple season is slowing down slightly with Christmas around the corner. According to Mateusz Wajnert, head of sales for Polish apple exporter Galster, their season has been pretty good overall: “The beginning of the apple season was very good for us. We started shipping apples as fast as possible. By the end of November, our season was still very good because we delivered the produce to the satisfaction of most of our old customers and a few new ones as well. We exported large volumes and all of our customers was happy about the quality of the apples that they received. In December, we can see a slowdown, especially last week. Our business has hopes that apple prices will increase after New Year as there is a problem with availability.”
Most of the demand comes from destinations that require long transport, Wajnert explains. “We’ve notice strong demand from the Middle-Eastern market specifically. Basically most of the long shipment markets are asking for our apples. But I need to add that they are mostly interested in the Gala Royal variety. Our current stocks for looks similar to what we had in stock during previous seasons at this same time, so who knows when the season will end.”
There has finally been some positive change when it comes to the prices of the Polish apples, but Wajnert emphasizes this is only true for certain varieties. “In the last few weeks, we can see that price increased for the most popular export varieties, like Gala Royal and Golden. Unfortunately, the rest of varieties remain at a similar price-level from the beginning of the season, maybe showing very slight growth, which for sure will not cover the cost of energy for the last months.”
The cost of energy has been frozen by the Polish government, but this will not take all of the Polish apple exporters’ worries away. “Our government has frozen the level of energy prices from the new year for companies with our profile, but even with that the cost is three times higher than the previous season. We will have to find a compromise with our customers in conversations about prices in 2023,” Wajnert concludes.
For more information:
Mateusz Wajnert
Galster Sp. z o.o.
Tel: +48 660 042 551
Email: [email protected]
www.galster.pl